THE PORT AUTHORITY OF NY & NJ

Press Release Article

PATH WEEKEND WORK ADVISORY - PATH RAIL WORK TO ENHANCE SAFETY, SECURITY AND SERVICE CONTINUES THIS WEEKEND WITH CLOSURES OF WORLD TRADE CENTER AND EXCHANGE PLACE STATIONS

Date: Feb 21, 2014Press Release Number: 46-2014

PATH weekend service continues between New Jersey and New York, with station access at Newark, Hoboken, Journal Square, Harrison, Newport and Grove in New Jersey and Christopher, 9th, 14th, 23rd and 33rd streets in New York

Extensive PATH rail work to implement a federal safety mandate is set to continue late Friday night through early Monday morning with closures of the World Trade Center and Exchange Place stations, a process that will continue most weekends throughout 2014 with the exception of major holidays.

PATH riders will be able to get between New Jersey and New York from all other PATH stations on weekends, including Grove Street, Newport and Journal Square in Jersey City. Riders from Newark and Harrison will need to transfer at Journal Square for trips into New York.

Service between New Jersey and New York will run on weekends on the Journal Square to 33rd Street (via Hoboken) line during the closures of the World Trade Center and Exchange Place stations, with increased service and decreased wait times.

The Port Authority regrets the inconvenience, but wants riders to know the work is critical to install Positive Train Control, an updated safety system that automatically applies a train’s brakes if a collision is imminent. The federal government has mandated the system’s implementation by a December 2015 deadline. The weekend window also is required to continue ongoing work to remove latent, corrosive salt from the system left by Superstorm Sandy flooding.

Allotting this work time is vital to upgrading PATH to improve current and future service. In addition to safety and security enhancements, this work will provide PATH riders increased reliability in the future, as well as laying the groundwork for increased passenger capacity as early as 2016.

PATH officials are making a concerted effort to inform its passengers of the station closures and alternative travel options, with announcements running in stations every five minutes, PATHVision alerts with increased daily frequency, explanation boards at the WTC and Exchange Place stations, as well as regular PATHAlerts and @PATHTrain Twitter messages. Additional PATH information agents will be at the WTC and Exchange Place stations to provide riders with alternative route information on weekends between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m.

Additionally, PATH has reached agreement with NJ TRANSIT to cross-honor PATH tickets on the Hudson-Bergen Light Rail at the Exchange Place, Newport and Hoboken stations during the upcoming weekend closures. PATH officials also have coordinated with NJ TRANSIT and NYC Subway officials about letting their potential connecting customers know of the station outages.

• The last departure from WTC is 11:55 p.m., arriving at NWK at 12:17 a.m.

• The last departure from NWK is 11:20 p.m., arriving at WTC at 11:42 p.m.

• There are no impacts to WTC-Hoboken (HOB) and HOB-WTC service

• The last departure from WTC is 10:56 p.m., arriving at HOB at 11:06 p.m.

• The last departure from HOB is 11:11 p.m., arriving at WTC at 11:21 p.m.

The World Trade Center and Exchange Place stations will be reopened each Monday at approximately 4:45 a.m. The first departure out of the WTC will be the 5:10 a.m. train to NWK.

The West Concourse at WTC, providing underground connection to Brookfield Place, will remain open and accessible during these weekend outages.

Alternatives for passengers during the 2014 weekend outages

PATH service between New York and New Jersey will continue throughout the scheduled weekend outages. Additional service will be added to the Journal Square-33rd (HOB) line in both directions to accommodate additional traffic.

The Newark-WTC line only will operate between Newark and Journal Square in both directions. Passengers wishing to go to Grove Street from points east should transfer to the Journal Square-33rd (HOB) at Journal Square.

PATH riders also may seek information on alternative service from the Port Authority website, PATHAlerts and Twitter.

Founded in 1921, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey builds, operates, and maintains many of the most important transportation and trade infrastructure assets in the country. The agency’s network of aviation, ground, rail, and seaport facilities is among the busiest in the country, supports more than 550,000 regional jobs, and generates more than $23 billion in annual wages and $80 billion in annual economic activity. The Port Authority also owns and manages the 16-acre World Trade Center site, where construction crews are building the iconic One World Trade Center, which is now the tallest skyscraper in the Western Hemisphere. The Port Authority receives no tax revenue from either the State of New York or New Jersey or from the City of New York. The agency raises the necessary funds for the improvement, construction or acquisition of its facilities primarily on its own credit. For more information, please visit http://www.panynj.gov.